Radioactive
by The Batchild
Summary: REWRITE OF AIN'T NO REST. After being rescued by the crew of the USS Enterprise, Alianna and Sindari Lordeck find themselves without a ship and without a crew. In trying to determine what happened to their previous posting, the USS Marissa, they and the crew of the Enterprise find themselves in the middle of a plot against the Federation. - Part 1 of the Lordeck Sisters Saga.
1. A Signal in the Dark

"Captain, I'm picking up a distress signal from a Federation shuttle. It's broadcasting on all channels, sir."

"Someone really wants our attention. Uhura, input the coordinates; Sulu, get us there fast. Let's not leave them in distress for any longer than we have to."

"Aye, aye."

James Tiberius Kirk, the recently-made captain of the _USS Enterprise,_ settled back in his seat as the ship leapt into warp drive. The feeling was barely perceptible but Kirk felt it anyway, his body attuned to the normal functions of his ship; it hadn't taken long at all for him to consider the _Enterprise_ his, and it certainly hadn't taken long for him to fall in love with the ship. He watched the stars blur and stretch outside the viewscreen and a few minutes later they were dropping out of warp, a short distance away from the shuttle in need of assistance. The engines fell back to impulse power with a soft shudder, the stars returning to their normal state as points of light in the blackness of space. The _Enterprise_ dropped to thrusters and edged closer to the Federation shuttle.

"Sir, I'm picking up another signal," Uhura said, her fingers moving deftly across her console. "There's a small ship next to the shuttle. I don't recognize the signal and they're not responding to our hails. There is some rudimentary technology in place meant to block long-range scans, but it can't withstand any scans from this close."

Kirk pushed himself out of his chair and strode across the bridge, stopping in front of the viewscreen and peering out into the black beyond. He could just make out the square shape of the Federation shuttle and the more rounded shape of the other vessel. There were no lights coming from either craft. They looked like they were dead, hanging in space. If it hadn't been for the signals Uhura was tracking, he wouldn't have believed there was anyone to save. He could tell was the strange ship was much larger than the Federation shuttle and it was not a ship he was familiar with.

"Chekov, are we picking up any weapons signatures?" he asked, turning around to face the bridge.

The young officer consulted his console. "Negative Captain."

"I've identified the shuttle, sir," Uhura interjected, spinning so she could meet Kirk's gaze. "It's from the _USS Marissa,_ an Excelsior-class ship under the command of Captain DeFalco."

"Where is the ship now?"

"Command has them listed as on patrol near the Neutral Zone. I have already sent a subspace transmission and am awaiting a reply."

Kirk nodded, his plan of action already formed. "Any identity on the other vessel?"

"Negative," Uhura answered. "It's unregistered, and there are no markings. It's leaking radiation though, so it's not a military or official vessel of any kind. Smugglers or slavers probably."

Kirk started towards the turbolift at the back of the bridge, conscious of the eyes of his crew on him as he moved. He nodded again, acknowledging Uhura's words. "Inform me immediately if there's a response from the _Marissa_ or from the other vessel." He leaned over the console closest to the turbolift doors and called Engineering. "Mr. Scott, meet me in the transporter room and get Bones to join you. Mr. Spock," he said, finding the dark eyes of his first officer where he sat in front of his console. "You have the bridge—Sulu, you're with me."

The helmsmen joined the Captain in the turbolift and Kirk hit the button to take them down several decks, glad Spock hadn't tried to stop him from leading the away mission. He rolled his shoulders, preparing himself for what they might find when they rematerialized. One thing was certain: Kirk wasn't going to let slavers or smugglers get away with any Federation personnel.

* * *

She had a headache, her wrists were killing her, and there was blood dripping down her hands, sticky and warm. Her wrists were bound with some rigid, unforgiving material and she was blindfolded.

Alianna Lordeck, security chief on board the _USS Marissa_ , was on the verge of freaking out.

It was hard for to breathe, her chest aching with her attempts to get a satisfactory gulp of air. Even though she knew it was fruitless, she continued to struggle against her bonds, the cuts on her wrists worsening and sending more blood to pool in her fists. But she couldn't sit still. She knew the irrationality of her fear, of her response to being tied up, but it didn't matter.

At least the pain was helping her keep the panic at bay.

Alianna finally managed to get a deep enough breath and let it out slowly, forcing herself to stop struggling—it was her fault she was bound anyway. If she hadn't attacked the Orions who'd boarded the shuttle, she wouldn't have taken the blow to the back of her head and they wouldn't have tied her up while she was dazed.

Panic started to creep in again. She swallowed another gulp of air and focused on what she could hear and feel and smell to keep her mind off her capture.

She was sitting with one shoulder against wall and someone was leaning against her legs. One of her feet was prickling with pins and needles and her knee was starting to ache from being twisted into an unnatural position. There were soft whispers and whimpers filling the air around her, which meant at least some of the passengers from the shuttle were alive. That was a huge relief and calmed her further.

Her and her sister Sindari had been the only Starfleet officers on board the shuttle and could take care of themselves, but the others had all been civilians and trusted the officers to keep them safe on the journey from Andoria, where the sisters had been visiting their parents on shore leave. It was a task which they had failed.

Alianna groaned in frustration and her heart rate escalated again, the panic clutching at her insides.

"Ali?" came her sister's voice in a whisper.

A fresh wave of relief washed over Alianna at the familiar sound. "Sin?" she croaked. "Sin, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Everyone's fine—no serious injuries. You?"

Alianna shook her head and gulped down a breath. "Are you sure?" There had been a couple children on the shuttle, and if any of the Orions slavers had harmed the children… She gave her head another shake. She couldn't do anything tied up, blind. "You are absolutely sure?"

"We're all fine," someone answered.

"Keep your mouths shut!" one of slavers called. "Or I'll shut you up myself."

Alianna snarled, her panic turning to hostility. Hostility was easier to handle, usually more productive. For her at least.

She wiggled out from under whoever was sitting against her legs and tried to climb to her knees; she hadn't thought so far ahead as to know what she was going to do if she managed to get on her feet, but she was trying anyways. Something cracked into the back of her head, sending her sprawling forward. Alianna's face slammed into the floor, pain exploding outward from the point of contact and joining the throbbing caused by the exacerbated headache. Blood filled her mouth and she blinked rapidly, trying to clear the stars from her limited vision.

"Fuck," she muttered, rolling onto her side.

"My sentiments exactly—you are on my antenna."

Alianna groaned and pushed herself back into a seated position. "Sorry." She spit her mouthful of blood onto the floor beside her, where she knew no one was.

"Be quiet!"

The slaver watching over the captives might have been about to say more, but the zap of a phaser discharging cut him off. Shouts and curses in English and Orion filled the air, along with the pounding of running feet and more weapons fire. Alianna's heart was beating loudly in her ears, the pain increasing as her head whipped back and forth as she attempted to track the noises. She cursed under her breath again and wished she could get the blindfold off. She struggled against her bonds, the material cutting deeper. She cut a scream short, stopped struggling. She didn't have the restraint to keep from slamming her shoulder into the wall in frustration though, connecting hard enough to bruise.

A loud grating noise sounded a few minutes later as the doors to the cargo hold were opened all the way and light flooded in, peeking around the edges of the blindfold. Alianna sat up straighter, her face turned toward the illumination.

"They're in here!" a gruff and unfamiliar voice yelled. "All fifteen of them."

"Are you sure, Bones?"

"Yes Lieutenant, I am, now help me free them while the Captain finishes 'talking' to the Orions."

Alianna listened as those around her were freed. She was relieved to know the other passengers were free, but without the distraction of trying to free herself or the sounds of battle, Alianna's awareness of her bonds came back to the forefront and she began struggling again. The rational part of her mind told her she was only imaging the bonds getting tighter, but the more primal part of her didn't believe that. The bonds were getting tighter and she was going to die, tied up and blind.

She didn't know how long it actually was until she heard those closest to her being freed, until she was aware of someone moving behind her, but it felt like an eternity.

She wanted out. She wanted out now. Strangled noises escaped through clenched teeth. All her muscles tensed and the panic flared into hostility once again; her body prepared for attack.

A hand settled on her shoulder and she reacted without thinking, throwing her head back and connecting with the face of whoever was behind her. She felt something snap against her head, in the same spot which had already taken two hits. Pain exploded through her head and she cried out at the same time whoever she'd hit swore.

"What the hell?" the man behind her barked. "You broke my nose!"

"Ali! They're Starfleet!" Sindari's voice was suddenly close to Alianna and then the blindfold was gone. Sindari's face was in view, a slightly exasperated smile on her lips. "They're Starfleet, from the _Enterprise_. We're safe and you just broke a captain's nose."

Alianna took a deep breath and her eyes locked on her younger sister's face, on the green eyes the exact same shade as her own. She matched her breathing to the rise and fall of her sister's shoulders and used the rhythm to calm herself. Sindari's smile widened and she pushed some hair back from Alianna's face, cupping her sister's cheek. When she was sure Alianna had reached a more stable place, she nodded at whoever was standing behind the still-bound woman.

"I'm going to cut you free and then we'll get you on your feet," the main, the captain, behind her said. "Please don't hit me again."

Alianna didn't say anything as the bonds on her wrists were cut. She did, however, sigh in relief when she could bring her arms in front of her again and she flung her arms around her sister when they were both standing. Sindari rubbed Alianna's back and pressed her face into her shoulder. For a moment, the sisters just stood in the embrace, knowing they, and everyone else from the shuttle, was alive and safe.

When Alianna stepped back, she surveyed the damage she'd done to herself and she winced at the chafed and bleeding skin. She shoved the pain to the back of her mind as she turned to face the captain.

He was a few inches taller than her with startlingly blue eyes and a cocky smirk, no less impactful for the blood streaming from the broken nose he was pinching with the fingers of one hand. He didn't seem overly angry about the injury. Alianna knew him right away, though she'd never actually had the pleasure of being introduced. Everyone knew who he was—the cadet who'd saved Earth and taken command after only three years at the Academy.

"You're Captain Kirk," she said, her voice a little harsher than was warranted.

"What? No apology? No 'thank you?'" he asked, that smirk growing. "We did just save you from Orion slavers."

Alianna's scowl deepened and she heard Sindari huff behind her, knew her sister would be rolling her eyes in frustration. "Thank you, _sir._ Now, would you mind telling me why you're answering the distress signal rather than the _Marissa?_ "

"We were the first to respond." Kirk sniffed back some of the blood and winced. "We sent a transmission to your ship and are waiting for a response."

"They should have responded."

Kirk nodded.

"Why haven't they responded?"

"I don't know."

Anything else Alianna might have said was cut off when another man appeared beside his captain. He was of Asian descent, wearing a yellow tunic like Kirk, and his voice identified him as one of those she'd heard earlier. While they were discussing the transfer of the civilians and the Orions, Alianna looked around the cargo bay and realized her, Sindari, Kirk, and the other man were the only ones left. She inhaled sharply, shocked at how oblivious she'd been. Maybe she had a concussion. She probably had a concussion.

"Ali, are you all right?"

She turned to look down at her sister. "I don't know," she said quietly. Sindari looked a little alarmed. Alianna wasn't one to admit weakness.

"Your head is bleeding."

Alianna turned sharply to look at Kirk as she raised a hand to touch the wound at the back of her head. Her fingers came away bloody. "So is your face," she snapped. She wasn't sure why she was angry: weakness, fear, shame or, most likely, some combination of the three. "Are we going to stand around here all day or are we going to get to medical? I'm beginning to see spots and unless you want to carry me, I suggest we hurry."

Sindari looked a little mortified at her sister's behaviour and Kirk look amused, even going so far as to chuckle. He turned to the other man and said, "Mr. Sulu, contact the transporter room and have them beam us back." His voice sounded more garbled than before and he was starting to look a little pale from blood loss, regardless of his keeping his head tilted back. Maybe it was the pain.

"You may want to tone down the hostility," Sindari whispered as they began to dematerialize.

Something like a growl escaped Alianna's throat, but once again, she didn't get to respond.

When the four Starfleet officers appeared in the transporter room on the _Enterprise_ , her knees buckled. Points of light darted across her vision, followed by darkness creeping in from the edges. Someone grabbed her under her arms and hauled her back to her feet, her head rolling around a bit as she tried to focus on whoever was supporting her. She blinked slowly a few times and attempted to get her feet under her, but the arms around her tightened then shifted and she was leaning on someone, her head on their shoulder, her feet off the ground. When she finally found herself able to focus, Alianna was looking at Kirk's bloody face, the smirk still in place under those bright blue eyes.

"Lemme go," she slurred, trying to glare and finding the motion nearly impossible. She attempted to push away, but the captain held her in place. She shook her head, her senses coming mostly back; everything still felt sort of fuzzy. "I can walk on my own."

"I don't think you can, but sick bay isn't far. I don't mind carrying you."

Alianna rolled her eyes and immediately regretted it as a fresh wave of dizziness struck her. "Damn you," she mumbled as her eyes closed. Kirk's shoulder was suddenly very comfortable.

Kirk chuckled again and Sindari was saying something, but all Alianna was truly aware of as they moved down the hall was the pain in her head and the warmth of Kirk's arms around her.


	2. On Board the Enterprise

"Is she going to be okay?"

The doctor—what was his name? McCoy?—looked at Sindari as she spoke, his expression gruff. She didn't take it as any comment on her sister's condition however—from what she'd seen, his expression was always like that. It rather suited him, she thought.

"She's fine," he said. "The minor concussion, cuts on her wrists, cheek, and the inside of her mouth were her only injuries, all of which will heal well enough with time and a little help from me. But I need her to wake up first. Make sure all her faculties are intact."

Sindari looked down at Alianna, lying almost perfectly still on the biobed. McCoy had given her a sedative when Kirk had brought her into sickbay and her chest was rising and falling in a regular pattern, her face peaceful, though her long dark hair was a mess and her clothes were rumpled and bloody. Her skin was a little pale, but much better than it had been when they arrived. The only sign to her previous distress was the hand at her stomach, clamped tightly around her shirt, and the thick white bandages around her wrists.

Something about the whole situation had brought up fuzzy memories from Sindari's childhood—half-remembered hospital visits, sitting in various waiting rooms, snuggling into bed beside Alianna's slumbering and usually sedated form.

"She just seemed so weak," Sindari said, squeezing Alianna's ankle. "That's so unlike her…"

McCoy sighed thoughtfully, his piercing eyes drifting from Sindari's face to Alianna's and back. "I would imagine the stress of it all would have exacerbated her symptoms. Not to mention the rush and then absence of adrenaline. She will be okay though," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"She hates being tied up. It always makes her freak out. And… she does go full-speed almost all the time," Sindari admitted. Hands on the edge of the biobed near Alianna's feet, she leaned forward and dropped her head, a few tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

The doctor was at her side immediately, soft beeps emanating from his tricorder as he scanned her. "Are you okay?"

In truth, Sindari felt a little woozy, unsteady, drained, but she straightened and smiled at McCoy. She knew the expression fell short of normal. "I'm fine. Just glad it's over and that everyone's okay. And I'm tired. And, like you said, all that adrenaline…" She gave her head a small shake. "But I'm fine. Thank you, Doctor McCoy."

He looked up from his tricorder frowning. "I'm recommending you get some water, something to eat and then get some rest. Your blood pressure is low. And call me Bones." He said it with the faintest hint of amusement and, from a couple beds down, Captain Kirk laughed, though Sindari wasn't sure what was so funny.

"Ow, damn it. It hurts to laugh," he said immediately after.

Kirk was sitting up, holding a thick piece of blood-stained gauze under his nose and looking a little pale around the edges. There was blood splattered across the front of his gold tunic. Bones cast one more look at Sindari to make sure she was okay before he moved to stand in front of Kirk. The captain had taken a painkiller earlier and Bones had checked on his other patients while he waited for it to kick in; apparently Kirk had negative reactions to some of the modern medicines and machines, leaving Bones to rely on older methods to repair any damage the captain took. Sindari found she was curious how the doctor managed.

"You want to tell me again how this happened?" Bones asked as Kirk removed the gauze from his nose. "It's quite the break." He frowned as he took Kirk's face in his hands and examined the break.

Kirk opened his mouth, but Sindari was the one who spoke. "My sister broke it with her head."

Bones raised his eyebrows at Sindari. "I would have thought it was something harder than a skull—the bridge is nearly crushed," he said. "Your sister must have a hard head."

Sindari rolled her eyes. "You have _no_ idea."

Both Bones and Kirk chuckled at that.

"I'll put a brace on it, Jim. We'll have to keep an eye on it as well. It should be healed within a week or so, but knowing you, it'll take longer. Even if I could heal it the proper way, it'd be good to have the extra protection and support," he muttered.

"Whatever you say, Bones."

For a few moments, Sindari watched silently as Bones set Kirk's nose and then affixed a slim metal brace in place with medical tape. Kirk's face was already bruising, but a quick wave of another device—a protoplaser, if Sindari remembered her basic medical training correctly—helped minimalize the blue-purple spots and the swelling. As Bones was finishing up, another member of the crew entered the medical bay, his familiar dark eyes scanning the room before locking onto Kirk.

Sindari watched the Vulcan approach, belatedly realizing was familiar because he had been one of her instructors at Starfleet Academy.

"Captain, we have made arrangements with the science station _Newton_ ," Commander Spock informed Kirk. The Vulcan stood with his back straight and his arms at his sides. His face was placid. "We will dock there in a few days, and they will hold the Orions until Starfleet can retrieve them and come to some agreement with the Orion authorities. They will also make arrangements to house the civilians if needed, or help them get where they were headed."

"Excellent." Kirk hopped off the biobed, paused as if the movement had made him dizzy, and then nodded once and headed for the door. He moved with the same confidence he had since Sindari had seen him enter the cargo bay on the Orion ship. "Have we heard anything from the _Marissa_?"

Spock looked at Sindari as she moved closer to the higher ranking officers, her arms crossed over her chest. She tucked a lock of her red hair behind her ear, realizing as she did that she badly needed to shower; she must have been covered in sweat and blood and grime by now. Not a pretty picture. The young officer nodded to Spock, who seemed to be waiting for some sign that it was okay to speak about her ship in front of her.

"We have not," the Vulcan finally said. There was a softer note in his voice, and he was looking at Sindari when he spoke next. "I am sorry, Lieutenant Lordeck."

"Don't apologize, Commander. If something bad has happened…" She sighed. "We'll deal with whatever has happened when we find them. There's no point in worrying until we know what to worry about." She made herself smile, but she didn't feel it. Worry _was_ starting to take hold inside—she and Alianna were close to Captain Joseph DeFalco; he would have come to help them if he could, if he'd heard the distress call—but she tried to keep it from showing on her face. Instead, she turned to the doctor and the captain. "If my sister is going to survive, I think I'd like to get some rest like you suggested, Bones. Where are the guest quarters?"

"I can show you the way," Spock said. "I am headed in that direction."

She smiled at the Vulcan. "Thanks, Commander. And food?"

"There are food synthesizers in the hall outside the guest quarters, and the mess hall is not far." Spock started down the hall and Sindari fell in beside him, matching her stride to his.

"The Constitution-class is quite different from the Excelsior-class," Sindari said, her green eyes roving as they traversed the ship. "Are there blueprints or reports I can examine? The _Enterprise_ is like nothing else flying right now."

One of Spock's eyebrows rose, as did one corner of his mouth. "There are. I will see to it you have access from the terminal in your quarters. It is good to see you are still curious, as you were at the Academy."

Sindari felt her cheeks flush with the knowledge Spock remembered her, but then, he probably remembered most of his students, especially ones who peppered him with questions every chance they got. However, the comment opened up a line of casual conversation that Sindari continued as her and Spock continued down the hall. By the time they reached the room she and Alianna would be sharing, Sindari was feeling marginally better.

* * *

When Alianna came back to her senses, she was lying semi-reclined on a biobed and there was a flurry of activity and noise surrounding her. A few of the passengers from the shuttle were in sick bay with her, bandaged and sedated, but they all seemed in good shape—no one was screaming or crying at any rate, a fact Alianna was very grateful for since her head hurt. A lot. Her wrists were bandaged with thick white gauze, but the pain there was minimal. She sighed and settled back against the small pillow, blinking a few times to try and clear the remaining fog from her brain.

But she was comfortable, probably still a little sedated, and she didn't have to worry about any of the shuttle passengers anymore. Maybe more sleep wouldn't be a bad idea. Alianna let her eyes close, and knowing she and everyone else was safe, she let herself relax further, dipping back toward sleep.

She had almost drifted off again when a dour-looking man approached her bedside. He must have been the doctor. "You're awake. How's your head?"

"Well you get right to it, don't you?"

"From what I've heard, so do you. How's your head?" he asked again.

Alianna pushed herself slowly into a sitting position as the doctor began scanning her with his medical tricorder. There was something about his voice she found familiar; she thought she might have heard him speaking back on the Orion vessel. "It's still throbbing a bit, but not as badly as it was. Who are you and how long have I been out?"

The doctor barked a laugh. "Doctor McCoy, chief medical officer on board, and you've been out for a couple of hours." He looked down at his tricorder, checking the readouts. "Your vitals aren't where I'd like them to be, but something tells me you have places to be and people to question."

She nodded and, at the doctor's gesture, Alianna swung her legs over the edge of the biobed. McCoy walked around the other side of the bed so he could examine the injury at the back of her head. It had stopped bleeding, but the area was tender and she winced when the doctor poked at it, even though his touch was gentle. He muttered something and then appeared in front of her once again. Doctor McCoy placed the tricorder on the bed beside Alianna and unwound the bandages from her wrists to examine the deep trenches she'd carved there as she struggled against her bonds. The bleeding had stopped and scabs were starting to appear. Just looking at them made Alianna want to scratch them.

"I'd like you to get some more rest," he said, his tone betraying his disbelief that she'd follow even a suggestion. He knew her mind was set on her task, and Alianna was more than a little disturbed with how well he seemed to know her. He redressed the wounds on her wrists, checked the small bandage on her cheek. "There are no signs of permanent brain damage, but you took repeated hits to the same area. It would be a good idea to set an alarm tonight to wake you up every few hours, or have your sister do it."

She narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't sound very restful."

Doctor McCoy rolled his eyes. "Just do as I say so you don't end up stuck in here."

Alianna found herself grinning at the doctor's words. "Fine." She reached out and he helped her climb to her feet, holding her until they were both sure she'd be able to stand on her own. "And my cuts?"

"They'll heal on their own."

Alianna, who had never been too dependent on medicine or machines to take care of her injuries—which tended to be numerous—just nodded. Her hands came to rest on her hips. "Where can I find the captain?" she asked.

"If he's listened to me—which I'm sure he hasn't—he'll be in his quarters, asleep. You really did a number on his nose. Did you really break it with your head?"

Part of his wanted to wince at his tone, but she remained standing as straight and still as she could. "Yes. He startled me."

He cocked one eyebrow. "Remind me never to sneak up behind you, then."

"As long as I'm not tied up and blindfolded when you do, Doctor McCoy, we shouldn't have a problem."

"I'll try to keep that in mind. And call me Bones," he added, his tone indicating it was a phrase he used often.

"'Bones?' That's quite the nickname."

"Blame the captain. He gave it to me." Bones looked around sickbay, his eyes scanning every patient, every nurse, every visitor. He came to some sort of conclusion and turned to face Alianna again. "You wanted to speak to him?"

Alianna nodded.

"I'll take you to his quarters." After instructing his head nurse, Nurse Chapel, to call him if he was needed, Bones started for the hall, staying at Alianna's side in case she became unsteady or stumbled.

"Do you know if there's been any word from the _Marissa_?" she asked.

"Not yet."

She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing on it as they walked. Bones frowned but said nothing. "I… Are we on route to its last location?"

"You'll have to ask the captain, but I think so."

They made the rest of the trip in silence, Alianna's mind racing through all the worst possibilities of what her ship had come to. Was the _Marissa_ in trouble? Was everyone okay? Was Captain DeFalco okay? Why hadn't he come when she'd sent the distress call? By the time Alianna and Bones reached the captain's quarters, her mood was dark, her hands were fists at her sides, and her head was pounding. She managed to thank Bones, and the doctor returned to sickbay, leaving her stewing in the hall. She pressed the door chime harder than was necessary and listened to it echo faintly.

It was only then that she realized Bones should have probably called ahead to let Kirk know they were coming. It took a second longer to realize she didn't really care.

The doors hissed open as the chime faded, revealing Kirk, barefoot and bereft of his yellow uniform shirt. There was a glass of what looked like scotch in one hand. The brace on his nose made Alianna wince, but Kirk didn't seem bothered by it. His blue eyes were shining and there was something in his expression that soothed a bit of the anger bubbling in Alianna's gut. Somehow, even with the bruises and the brace, he still managed to be handsome. Maybe it had something to do with his cocky attitude.

"Well this is a surprise." He smiled as he stepped aside, allowing her to step into his quarters. As she took in his sitting room—white and black with hints of blue here and there, welcome despite the cold colour scheme; she liked it—Kirk approached the small bar on the far wall and poured her a drink. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant Commander Lordeck? How are you feeling?"

For several long minutes after accepting the drink, she didn't say anything. She couldn't. Her temper was flaring in waves. She wanted to be doing something, figuring out what was up with the _Marissa_ , not standing around waiting, sharing a drink with the captain who had rescued them. When her roving gaze found Kirk's, saw he was watching her intently, waiting. She inhaled a deep breath and let it out slow. She wasn't mad at Kirk. It wasn't his fault.

"I'm fine," she finally said. For a few heartbeats, she studied the brace on his nose. Alianna let out another long breath. "I wanted to… apologize." She felt her cheeks flushing, her anger rising with the colour. She took a long drink to stifle her temper, her default response to stress. "For breaking your nose and yelling at you."

He was smirking as he took a sip from his glass. "There's no need to apologize. It was a tense situation."

Alianna narrowed her eyes. Kirk laughed. "What's so funny?" she snapped.

"Are you always this intense?"

She levelled her gaze at him, her lips pressing into a thin white line. "Are we headed for the _Marissa_ 's last known location?" Her upper lip was starting to twitch. She wanted to yell. _It's not Kirk's fault, it's not his fault…_ she reminded herself.

That irritating smirk persisted. "We are, but we haven't heard anything from them yet."

The anger washed out of Alianna in a rush and she drained the rest of her scotch as it was replaced with hopelessness. "You think they're dead, don't you?"

"What?" Kirk's eyes widened in alarm when her voice dropped, the smile leaving his lips. "I didn't say that."

"Why not? Joe—Captain DeFalco would have come when he got the distress signal. If he could. It would take something huge to keep him from his crew when they were in trouble." Her anger buzzed through her veins again, rang in her ears, but it wasn't just anger anymore. She was afraid. "He would have come. They're all dead."

Kirk stepped closer to Alianna, putting his glass down on a table. He took her glass from her and put it on the table as well, and then held up his hands with his palms out. "Calm down, Lordeck. We'll find your ship and we'll figure out what happened—if anything has happened."

Her eyes were burning with unshed tears and she wanted to run, fight, do something. She felt out of control of her own emotions and she didn't like it. When Kirk's hands settled on her shoulders, she bared her teeth, her entire body going tense. He stared her down. Alianna took a step back and shook Kirk's hands away. She was scared and there was a knot in her gut telling her something bad had happened, a feeling she couldn't shake. Her heels hit something and she stumbled as she backtracked toward the door.

"I'm sorry about your nose. Thanks for the drink," she said, and then dashed through the door, leaving Kirk standing in his quarters, more than a little dumbfounded.

* * *

"Where's Ali?"

Bones straightened as Sindari entered the medbay. "She wanted to speak to the captain. After I checked her over, I took her up to his quarters."

Sindari huffed. "All right. I'll just head back to our room then and go to bed." A yawn escaped her mouth before she could stop it. "I got some food and now sleep sounds just about perfect."

A small smile flickered across Bones's face. If she hadn't been looking at him, she would have missed it. "Good. Ah, before you go, can I ask you something?"

"I'm guessing you want to know about something on Ali's record?"

"Actually, somethings on both your records."

All the good mood Sindari had been able to collect since coming on board the _Enterprise_ vanished. She knew what her medical history looked like and she was knew what Alianna's looked like; she also knew her sister had a black mark on her Starfleet service record. She knew what conclusions an experienced doctor like McCoy would have drawn and she knew most of them would be correct—there were only so many things that would bring children to the hospital almost monthly. Sindari didn't like talking about any of it. Those half-remembered hospital visits became more vivid suddenly and she leaned against an empty biobed and folded her arms over her chest. She didn't like thinking about any of it either.

"What did you want to know?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level and failing. The words came out icy and clipped.

"Hey now. I'm not looking to dig anything up."

She sighed again. "Sorry."

He waved it off as he moved closer. He stopped about six feet away, crossed his arms as well. "Don't apologize. I just want to know if—"

"All of that's over," Sindari answered before he could get the question out. "We're safe on the _Marissa._ All of that was from when we were kids. The stuff with Ali and the Klingons came later, after she joined Starfleet."

Bones watched her for almost a full minute, his eyes boring into hers. She tried not to squirm under the intense scrutiny. She knew he was trying to determine if she was lying. "I'll take your word for it for now," he said. "But your sister has sure spent a lot of time in sickbay."

"She's hard-headed and a little reckless sometimes. Doesn't always think everything through."

Bones snorted. "Sounds like her and Jim have a lot in common."

Sindari sighed. "Oh Lord." When Bones gave a short laugh, she found she was smiling again and she didn't feel so tired.


	3. The USS Marissa

Sindari had no idea what time it was when she finally awoke. She knew she was alone though, in the quarters she and Alianna were inhabiting while on board the _Enterprise_ ; as the older sister, Alianna had been around all of Sindari's life, so she knew when she wasn't there. She had probably gone to find a gym. Or food. She'd be fine.

Giving her head a bit of a shake, Sindari climbed out of bed and dressed comfortable—jeans and a thin sweater—and ran her fingers through her chin-length hair to tame the bed head. She didn't care that it wasn't completely smooth; she wasn't on duty. With a sigh, Sindari retrieved her personal data PADD and followed the path she'd memorized before bed that would take her to an observation deck. She moved through the halls in a state of concentration, determined not to get lost or have to look for directions; it was the kind of test she liked to put herself through.

When she found the observation deck a little while later, she found it deserted, which was to her liking. Sindari settled herself right in front of the window and spent a few minutes just staring out at the points of starlight.

 _I hope you're okay, Joe…_ she thought. _And everyone else, too._ She sighed, hung her head in her hands, her data PADD on her lap. _What will we do if something's happened?_

Tears prickled at the back of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. She had to keep up her positive attitude about the whole situation, even if she didn't feel it. Alianna was already fraying at the mere thought of losing their home, and she didn't have it in her to think positively; it was always the worst possible scenario with her, though she had the experiences to support that way of thinking. From a young age, Sindari had taken it upon herself to be the sunny one, to keep up the façade of innocence for Alianna's sake. She _had_ to believe they might find Captain DeFalco and the others alive. She _had_ to believe everything would be okay. It would help her from getting lost in her thoughts, and it would help keep Alianna from having a breakdown.

Sindari had seen her sister tumble over the edge before. It wasn't pretty.

The last time had resulted in her nearly getting gored by a Klingon bat'leth.

They definitely did not need a repeat of that.

With another sigh, Sindari turned her attention from the stars, from her thoughts, and to the specs of the _Enterprise_ she'd loaded onto her data PADD.

"Are you finding what you wished to know?"

Spock's voice behind her made Sindari jump in her chair, nearly dropping her data PADD. "Holy sh—Spock— _Commander_ Spock," she amended. "Hi. Uhm, yes. Yes, I am. This ship is amazing."

Sindari could have sworn she saw one corner of Spock's mouth lifting up at her reaction. "It is a state-of-the-art vessel. May I sit?"

"Sure."

Spock settled himself on the couch-like bench a few feet away from her, his back perfectly straight, his eyes locked on the view before them. "I took the liberty of viewing your file, as well as your sister's."

Sindari sighed and dropped the data PADD into her lab. "You have questions about Alianna's medical history too?"

"No. I was more interested in you seemingly scattered direction of study." If noticed Sindari's second sigh, he gave no indication. "You began with a focus on piloting and navigation, then switched to a weapons specialization, and just before the incident with Nero, you began training for field medic."

The Vulcan hadn't asked a question, but Sindari felt the need to explain herself anyway. "I lost interest in flying. I think I was only doing it because Ali was, and it meant we could spend some time together when they took the piloting students out for maneuvers. I've always been interested in weapons though—building them, maintaining them, using them—" She paused and cleared her throat to give herself time to banish the sheepish set to her features. "Ali encouraged me to follow _my_ interests, so I switched."

"And the field medic training?"

She snorted. "You watch a sibling nearly get herself gored by an angry Klingon and tell me how much you wished, in that moment, that you had the training to help keep her alive."

His eyebrows rose and he gave a nearly imperceptible nod. "Have you thought about continuing your medic training?"

"Sometimes, but I enjoy being one of the weapons officers on the _Marissa_. I don't think I would get the same fulfillment being a ship's doctor. But, I suppose I could help out in crisis situations if I did complete it…" Her voice trailed off along with her thoughts. She tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear. It didn't feel weird speaking to Spock about her time at Starfleet Academy. Since he'd been one of her teachers, she felt it was quite normal for him to enquire about her studies. She only had a few credits left to complete, ones she could do on board a starship, and he had raised some interesting lines of thought for her to follow.

"If I may ask, why had you put in for a transfer off the _Marissa_ , if you enjoyed your position so much?"

That question did catch her off guard. Sindari gave a start, blinked her green eyes a few times. "Uh… Well…"

"If it is too uncomfortable of a topic, you do not have to answer."

She considered it. "You just… I didn't expect that question." Sindari shifted until she was sitting more upright, her fingers curling around the data PADD. "I… I felt it was time to get some Starfleet experience away from Alianna. She… She spent our childhood… looking out for me. Running off to join Starfleet was the one thing she'd truly done for herself, but she felt so guilty about leaving me behind that, when I joined up, she took up her role as big sister again in earnest, even though I no longer needed to be my guardian." She cleared her throat again, banishing a sudden wave of emotion. When she spoke again, her voice was thicker. "I find myself worrying about her more often than not and I need to think of myself as I finish up my courses. Besides, the _Payne_ had a brand new weapons array installed and I thought, if they accepted my transfer, I could get some good firsthand knowledge."

"A reasonable assumption. Had you spoken to you sister about this?"

"Uhm. No. I was waiting to hear whether or not my transfer was accepted. I didn't see any sense in getting her worked up if there was no reason to."

Spock's eye brows rose again, his expression surprised more than appraising this time. "I must admit, I find the choice surprising, considering Lieutenant Commander Lordeck's attachment to the ship."

"I won't go into the details of Ali's attachment to the _Marissa_ —that's her story to tell—but the ship had always been more of a home to her than to me."

"Interesting."

"I guess."

Silence reigned for a few moments, the Vulcan and the human watching the stars drift past in front of them. The _Enterprise_ was travelling at sub-warp speeds. _Curious_ , Sindari mused. She could only think of a handful of reasons why that would be, chief among them being the ship had neared the last known location of the _Marissa_.

"Will you go through with the transfer should we find the _Marissa_ out of commission?"

A wry smirk twisted her lips. Out of commission. A nicer way of saying "if the worst came to pass." The doubt and fear of discovering just that welled inside, but Sindari one more tamped it down and summoned her optimism to the forefront.

"Maybe," she said, her voice coming out a touch too sunny for the topic. Spock didn't appear to notice. "But we'll have to wait and see. I'm sure the _Marissa_ is fine. Maybe they're just having a malfunction in their communications array."

"Perhaps."

Silence fell once more, but Sindari didn't mind it so much. She had always found Spock's presence reassuring. She knew it was just his Vulcan heritage, but his stoicism was comforting; it would take a lot to unsettle a Vulcan and, right then, she needed that.

" _Lieutenant Commander and Lieutenant Lordeck, report to the bridge."_

Sindari's gaze snapped to Spock, who was already on his feet. "I will take you to the bridge."

She nodded and fell in step beside him as they left the observation deck. As they walked, Sindari found it harder and harder to hold onto her optimism. Her hands began to shake and she held onto her data PADD tighter to try and hide it. She bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. Sindari didn't see how the _Marissa_ could possibly be okay—Alianna was right. If they could have, they would have come. They wouldn't have left two of their own to be captured, to perish. They wouldn't have let all those civilians be harmed.

"Lieutenant Lordeck?"

She jumped at Spock's voice and looked around. They were standing outside the doors to the bridge; she didn't remember the ride in the turbolift. "Sorry… Uhm…"

He approached the doors and they hissed open, exposing the bridge, which was a lot quieter than Sindari would have expected on a ship like the _Enterprise_. It took her a moment to realize why, her green eyes darting from detail to detail, person to person, as she followed Spock to the centre of the bridge. In the middle of the viewscreen was the _Marissa_ , dark and silent. Unmoving.

Anger welled up in Sindari's stomach. She wanted to scream, to hit something, shoot something… But it faded quickly in the wake of her grief. She didn't need Spock to tell her what she was looking at.

* * *

Alianna woke up early—probably about 5:00 am, Earth time. It wasn't that unusual for her to be up so early, even when she didn't have to be, but she had been hoping to sleep later. Her body was sore, her mind exhausted. She felt wrung out, stretched thin, and the constant worry about the fate of the _Marissa_ wasn't doing anything to help; what sleep she had managed had been plagued with dreams of the _Marissa_ 's demise, the crew mutilated, Captain DeFalco twisted and bloody in his captain's chair.

When further sleep proved elusive, Alianna climbed out of her bunk and quietly dressed so as not to wake Sindari, who slumbered on in the bunk above her. Since they were still technically off duty, they hadn't been given Starfleet uniforms, so she dressed in a pair of black leggings and a teal tunic, and bound her hair in a long braid down her back. It felt odd to be on a starship out of uniform, without duties or responsibilities, but she shoved that discomfort to the back of her mind, tucked her boots under her arm and left her quarters barefoot. Moving usually helped her clear her mind.

Maybe she could even catch a nap later.

A ways away from the quarters she was sharing with Sindari, Alianna accessed a terminal and brought up a map of the _Enterprise_ , searching for a gym. Upon locating one on the same deck, she set off, her boots still tucked under her arm, bare feet slapping on the white floor of the corridor. She passed only two people, who both regarded her bare feet curiously, but said nothing. In the gym, she threw her boots to the corner and headed straight for the punching bag hanging from the ceiling on the far side of a thick mat.

Without taping her hands or preparing in any way, Alianna laid into the bag, the dull thuds of her fists on the thick material filling the room, joined quickly by her short breaths and grunts of exertion as she tried to empty her mind.

She was afraid of what they would find when they reached the _Marissa_ —her home, the one place she had felt safe and secure. There was something gnawing at her gut, far beyond the lingering anger of her near-capture by Orion slavers. She knew something bad had happened, regardless of her lack of evidence; they might not find Captain Joseph DeFalco sitting maimed in his chair, but she was positive they would find him dead.

He would have come to help Alianna and Sindari if he could have. He would have contacted them at some point to see if they were okay. He would never have ignored their distress call.

Alianna gnashed her teeth, her jaw muscles bunching as she attacked the punching bag with renewed vigour.

Everyone had been saved from the slavers—not by her, which always ate away inside—but they had been saved. She too had been saved, and that was almost worse. Alianna had spent her life saving others, Sindari chief among them.

And Sindari was clinging to her hope that the _Marissa_ was okay, that they would find everyone alive and well, and go back to their lives with one more traumatic event to get over. Sindari had always been more of an optimist.

Right then, that pissed Alianna off more.

Struggling with her worry, her fears, her anger, Alianna felt like she was losing touch with herself, her life. She liked her life the way it had been, and she would have given anything to believe she could go back to it. Alianna let out a loose cry and lunged at the bag, her hand hitting the curve of the bag and sliding off with a quick snap. Pain lanced through her hand and up her arm. She tried to continue her attack, but the pain was too much and she slumped against the bag instead, giving another frustrated cry.

"Whoa there," someone said from the doorway.

Alianna jumped back, hands flying up as she held into an attack stance, but she dropped them immediately when she recognized Bones.

He stepped toward her, his mouth twisted down into a frown. "Let me see your hand."

"I'm fine," she snapped.

"You are not fine. You're crying, and your finger it already bruising. You probably broke it, wailing on the bag like you were." Bones didn't wait for her to offer her appendage. He just took it, holding it surprisingly gently as he examined it.

Alianna used her free hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks—she hadn't even realized she'd begun to cry. She hated crying. With a loud sniff, she gathered her composure and swallowed her wince when Bones touched her bruised flesh. "Can you fix it?"

"I could, and quickly too, if my requisitions were ever processed and my temperamental equipment was replaced in a timely fashion. As it stands, we'll have to do it the old way—a brace to hold it in place, and cold for the swelling—unless you want to risk losing it all together."

"I'm fine with a brace."

"Thought you might be." Bones let her hand go and headed for the hall. "Come on," he prompted when Alianna didn't follow.

She grabbed her boots and padded along after the doctor as he led the way to the turbolift, and then to medical. He cast an appraising glance at her unclad feet, snorted, but said nothing. In fact, they walked in silence. In medical, Alianna hopped onto the same table she'd been examined on after being rescued and rested her injured hand on her thigh, her boots on the floor beneath her.

Bones dug around in a few drawers for a minute before coming to stand in front of Alianna. He dropped a few things on a tray that he pulled to his side; at the early hour, there were only two nurses in sick bay, a man and a woman who were currently absorbed in a game of chess. They cast quick glances at Alianna as she came in, but since she was with Doctor McCoy, they paid her no more attention.

"Give me your hand."

Alianna gave Bones her hand, narrowing her eyes when he took her palm in a firm grip in one hand and the top of her broken finger in his other hand. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?"

"Your first broken finger?" Bones asked, one eyebrow rising.

"Hardly, but it's been a while since I've had to have one healed the old-fashioned way." She took a deep breath and let it out slow, affixing her green eyes to Bones's dour face. "All right."

Under normal circumstances, the _Enterprise_ 's doctor might have tried to distract his patient from what was coming, but he had Alianna's number. He met her gaze as he adjusted his hold and then pulled her finger straight with a sharp crack, giving a small nod of approval when she barely flinched.

"So," he said as he started to position the brace over the digit, "where were you and Sindari during the whole Nero incident? All the ships that left the academy were destroyed. You're the same age of the captain; you should have been on board one of those ships. How did you two survive?"

Alianna's eyes had dropped to where Bones worked; she was resisting the urge to bend her finger, knowing it would hurt and it would probably mean having it straightened again. Using her other hand, she tucked a few strands that had come free from her braid behind her ear. She didn't really want to answer his question. "Isn't that in my file?"

"All it said was you were temporarily stationed on the _Marissa_ with twenty-four other cadets. Most of the ships that were destroyed have begun to be rebuilt, or their names assigned to recently-completed vessels."

She snorted, but she wasn't exactly sure why. The memories of that time flooded back before she'd given them leave to. Her chest tightened and whatever Bones was doing with her hand faded to the background; she ignored the burning in her eyes. She would not cry in front of the doctor she barely knew. Alianna took a deep breath. "We were on the _Marissa_ in the Laurentian System," she confirmed after a minute. "Initially, Captain DeFalco had taken some cadets interested in learning to fly to practice maneuvers in practical scenarios."

"You fly?"

She nodded. "I do. Sin does a bit, too, but she lost the taste for it after we learned what had happened while we were 'having fun.' She wanted to be in the thick of it—"

"She would have died."

"Doesn't matter." A small smile danced across Alianna's face, but it was gone quickly. "We were both livid that we hadn't been involved. We wanted to help, and so many people died…" She shook her head and blinked back her emotions. "Anyway, the training maneuvers turned into an investigation of the Klingon prison planet that Nero had attacked, and we were there until Starfleet called us back. What we found was… hell."

"I can't imagine you were very patient during all of that waiting."

"Yeah, no." Alianna and Bones shared a brief laugh as he finished securing the brace in place, and wrapping some additional tape around it. "You think I'm going to take it off before you tell me to?"

His answering look was indignant. "Yes."

She opened her mouth to argue, but the anger and other emotions swirling around inside her dissipated, leaving her feeling empty. "You're probably right," she said after a moment. She scrubbed at her face roughly, covered her face with hands.

Alianna heard Bones shifting things around and then was aware of him coming to stand in front of her again. "Are you okay?" he asked. His voice was quiet.

"Just tired."

"And angry and sacred…"

Alianna sat up and glared at Bones, her green eyes flashing as her anger surged. "You don't know what I'm feeling," she snapped.

"I can make a pretty good guess, darlin'."

Alianna hopped off the examination table, forcing Bones to take a step back. She glared and opened her mouth to tell him his southern American charm held no sway with her, but a voice came through the panel on the wall and brought all conversation to an end.

" _Lieutenant Commander and Lieutenant Lordeck, report to the bridge."_

Alianna froze, the tightness in her chest increasing until it was nearly impossible to get a breath.

There was only one reason she and Sindari would be called to the bridge of a ship they didn't serve on. They'd found the _Marissa_.

The images that had plagued her dreams came back—her friends, her family, her crew, lying bloody and dead throughout the ship; Captain DeFalco mutilated in his chair—and she forced herself to blink, to remind herself that there was a chance they were still alive. Bones might have been saying something to her, but his voice was just a hum in the distance.

She was suddenly cold, terrified.

Her hands balled into fists, her braced finger resisting and sending a shock of pain up her arm. It cleared her head just enough to spur her into movement.

She started running, aware that Bones was following her, calling her name to try and get her to slow down. His words broke on her like waves on a beach. Alianna slammed into the back wall of the turbolift when she failed to slow down fast enough, her hands scrambling over the controls as she scanned for the one that would take her to the bridge.

Bones reached over her shoulder and pressed the correct button. His eyes, actually showing some concern, met hers briefly. They rode to the bridge in silence.

When the doors of the turbolift opened again, Alianna hurried down the corridor, the doors to the bridge sliding silently open, revealing the state-of-the-art white, black, and silver bridge of Starfleet's flagship—a sight Alianna would have, under any other circumstance, loved to see. But right then, all she could see was the silent, dark shape hanging in space ahead of the _Enterprise._

She only caught a glimpse before Captain Kirk appeared before her, blocking her view of her dead home. His hands wrapped gently around her upper arms and she had the mental space to wonder why—until she realized her knees were giving out beneath her and she'd started to fall.

"Breathe, Alianna," Kirk said. "Breathe."

She tried to do as he said, but her lungs wouldn't obey, her insides were dry, and nothing made sense. Instead of fighting to get to the viewscreen like the small voice in her mind told her to, Alianna let herself fall, let Kirk catch her. Her face came to rest against the front of his shoulder and when she did finally catch her breath, stopping the halt of the blackness at the corners of her vision, it was a breath full of Kirk.

It was oddly steadying, knowing there was someone right there, having something solid to cling to. An anchor.

"What's the status?" she asked, looking up at Kirk. Her voice was raspy, her eyes shining with unshed tears. But she knew before Kirk spoke that it wasn't good.

"I'm so sorry, Ali," he said. The sound of her nickname on his lips startled her; no one but Sindari and DeFalco had called her that in a long time. "There are no life signs."

Even Kirk couldn't hold her up as those words hit her. Her knees struck the floor, any air in her chest vanished, but still, the tears wouldn't fall.

No life signs.

They were all dead.


End file.
